Break and Mend | "Lost and Found" Sequel

Chapter Nine: Dig Dug

A/N: Just a heads up that the next chapter will be pretty much Doc-less. There's a few chapters like that, actually.

Warnings: attempted murder, animal corpse, violence, mentions of blood and death/dying

Word Count: 6476

For the past couple hours she had been at the Byers home, Doc had been wandering Will's room, trying to make sense of the drawings taped everywhere around the house. She had no idea what they were at first, but Will soon explained to them (after staring her down for a few seconds) that it was what the shadow monster was allowing him to see.

The day had darkened into early evening as Mike and Doc both continued to wander Will's room, their fingers brushing over the drawings in wonder as the boy spoke. "It's like... It's like I feel what the shadow monster's feeling. See what he's seeing."

"Like in the Upside Down?" Mike asked, glancing over at Will. The boy was still sweating bullets and he stared forward with wide, distant eyes. Will gave a couple short nods in response.

"Some of him is there. But some of him is here, too."

Doc gave her attention to him as she cautiously made her way over to him, keeping in mind to distance herself. Will hadn't been giving her a good feeling since she arrived. He had barely spoken to her, but when he did, it was harsher than when he spoke to everyone else. And he had always, always given her a death stare, like she was unwanted by him. "Here in the house? In the room?"

Will took a deep breath and fisted his pants as if he were restraining himself. "In this house and... in me," He choked on a sob as Mike slowly sat down beside him. "It's like... It's like he's reaching into Hawkins more and more. And the more he spreads, the more connected to him I feel."

"And the more you see these now-memories." Mike concluded.

"Was it always like that?" Doc asked, moving closer. "Could you always see the... now-memories like that?"

Will tensed as she stopped in front of him, his eyes flickering from her and to the ground. "A-At first... I just felt it in the back of my head," He brushed his fingers against the back of his neck. "I didn't even really know it was there. It's like when you have a dream and you can't remember it unless you think really hard. It was like that. But now it's like... Now I remember. I remember all the time."

Doc slowly reached out to touch his shoulder. She opened her mouth to speak, but Will had harshly flinched and smacked her hand away just as her fingertips brushed his shoulder. All three of them froze, Mike and Doc staring at Will with startled looks. Will had only been glaring at Doc, offended. She gulped and slowly backed away towards his door. "Sorry..."

Will's expression softened the more she backed away, and that broke her heart. Blinking hard, she shifted her body away. "I'm gonna... get some water. I'll be back..." She whispered, exiting the room. In the living room, Joyce's eyes were roaming around the drawing's, trying to decipher what they meant. Doc exhaled and walked up to her side, having taken off her skates earlier out of respect. "Mrs Byers?"

Joyce blinked and turned to the girl, looking as if she had just woken up from a dream. "Hey, honey. You okay? H-How are your hands, by the way?"

"Oh," She glanced down at her hands. "They're fine. I changed the bandages a little bit ago. Um... I have a question, though."

"Yeah, what is it?"

Doc moved her eyes to the side, eyeing one of the drawings. "Has Will's... personality changed at all to you? Is he... a little hostile? Or is it just me?"